More Than 100 New Cases Recorded In MoCo For Eighth Straight Day

ROCKVILLE, MD — Montgomery County added 124 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, the eighth day in a row with more than 100 cases.

The addition pushes the local total to 25,562 infections — and it's giving health officials pause as they cautiously plan their next steps.

The county, which is currently in phase two of its pandemic recovery plan, has typically reopened at a slower rate than the rest of the state due to higher COVID-19 numbers. Health officials say the county will not enter phase three until they see low and medium transmission levels — or 10 to 35 cases a day. Over the last three months, daily COVID-19 cases have hovered between 47 and 171.

On Wednesday, the county recorded one more coronavirus-related death, bringing its total to 830 fatalities.

Health officials suspect another 40 people had the disease but died before ever getting tested. For now, they are considered "probable deaths." They won't be added to the official fatality count until they are confirmed by a lab test.

Montgomery County has the second highest number of deaths and cases in the state, after Prince George's County, which has 835 fatalities and 32,648 infections, according to the latest figures.

Across Maryland, there have been 142,425 cases, 3,969 confirmed deaths, and 146 "probable deaths." Of the 501 people that are currently hospitalized, 114 are in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).